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ca. 1892 MILLS .38 CALIBER REVOLVER CAVALRY
CARTRIDGE BELT SET – FEATURING A MATCHED PAIR OF THE
VERY RARE MILLS WOVEN SABRE STRAPS - BELT COMPLETE w/
THE RARE MILLS REVOLVER BELT EAGLE PLATE: This
is a very nice Mills Cavalry Pistol Cartridge Belt set
that includes a matched pair of the Mills woven sabre
straps. The rarity of these Mills woven sabre straps
cannot be overstated, as they are seldom found in even
the most advanced belt collections. In fact, when
writing American Military and Naval Belts 1812-1902,
Stephen Dorsey found only the one tan set pictured on
pages 305-307 at the Frontier Army Museum at Ft.
Leavenworth, Kansas, and was unable to locate a blue set
to photograph for the book. In the span of his
collecting experience, he could remember seeing only one
other set of these rare sabre straps offered for sale.
This full length Mills Revolver Cartridge Belt is in
excellent condition with the body of the belt showing no
soiling, fading or loss of color. All forty-five .38
caliber cartridge loops are present and intact
with no wear to the edges
of the loops and no misshaping.
The belt is fitted with the
fairly rare Mills Eagle Revolver Cartridge Belt Plate,
complete with the proper catch and the tongue is legibly
stamped with the correct Mills patent information. The
plate is full form with no damage or loss of finish, and
has not been polished - having a nice mustard colored
patina.
The belt is fitted with the matched set of Mills Woven
Sabre Straps, each complete with the integral wire
hanger that is designed to slide over the top edge of
the belt and pass across the width of the belt between
the cartridge loops. The brass fittings on each end of
both straps retain the original blackened finish, are
stamped with the Mills patent information, and the
shorter front strap is complete with the integral
dismounted sabre hook. This set of Mills sabre straps
are in excellent condition, featuring full length belt
hooks with both prongs present and intact on each strap,
the sabre snap hooks which are still functional and
complete, and both straps are full length as
manufactured.
The Mills Revolver Cartridge Belts are not as common as
the rifle and carbine cartridge belts and even less so
when found complete with
the Mills Eagle Plate and
catch - making this belt alone a very nice piece in its
own right.
The presence of such a fine
matching set of the rare Mills Woven sabre straps
elevates this belt to an exceptional specimen that will
be a true centerpiece for your Spanish American War
collection, particularly when displayed with one of the
early .38 revolvers.
SOLD
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